A study investigating the use of psilocybin for patients suffering from depression has exhibited not only a mental response, but a quantifiable physical change.

“We have shown for the first time clear changes in brain activity in depressed people treated with psilocybin after failing to respond to conventional treatments,” lead author Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, head of psychedelic research at Imperial College London.

“Through collecting these imaging data we have been able to provide a window into the after effects of psilocybin treatment in the brains of patients with chronic depression.”

“Based on what we know from various brain imaging studies with psychedelics, as well as taking heed of what people say about their experiences, it may be that psychedelics do indeed ‘reset’ the brain networks associated with depression, effectively enabling them to be lifted from the depressed state.”

While previous studies have relied on post-treatment interviews, or therapy conducted in conjunction with psilocybin treatment, this is the first to discover a physical change in patients’ brains (via functional MRI scans) after they’ve been treated.